 The ants receive colony space in "A. collinsii" to support their population structure.In return, the ants actively defend the tree from herbivory and often from competing plants nearby, clearing the forest floor of other seedlings.Sometimes, a large "P. spinicola" colony may be spread between two or more trees, protecting each tree within their colony and possibly grooming "A. collinsii" seedlings within that microhabitat to be used by the colony.